Here’s an update on COVID-19 cases in Ontario as well as in the greater Kawarthas region.
As Ontario reports a new single-day record of 1,983 new COVID-19 cases, the provincial government announced it will be rolling out early next week the very first doses of Pfizer-BioNTech’s vaccine, which Health Canada approved on Wednesday (December 9).
“We expect a very small number of doses to arrive in the coming days,” Premier Doug Ford announced today. “Beginning Tuesday, December 15, these first doses will be administered at University Health Network and The Ottawa Hospital to health care workers who are providing care in long-term care homes and other high-risk settings.”
Ford said Toronto and Ottawa were selected as the first locations to receive the vaccine to test and validate the province’s distribution networks for the vaccine, and also because of the challenges the two regions have faced with outbreaks in long-term care homes.
At a media briefing at Queen’s Park on Thursday afternoon following Ford’s statement, retired general Rick Hillier stressed the province’s vaccination program “will take a while” to proceed.
“We cannot vaccinate every single person on day one, so people do have to be patient,” said Hillier, who is chair of Ontario’s COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution Task Force. “We are going to come at the people who are in most vulnerable circumstances and our health care workers first, and get them vaccinated because the tragedy has been visited upon them most. And then we will work through the rest of the people in this province and the priorities that the government will help us define based on our recommendations back to them.”
With the record increase of confirmed COVID-19 cases reported today, the average number of daily cases over the past seven days has increased by 22 to 1,862.
In the greater Kawarthas region, there are 20 new cases to report and 11 more resolved cases, with the number of active cases increasing by 10 to 106 across the entire region.
Most of the new cases reported today are in Peel (515), Toronto (496), York (208), and Windsor-Essex (112).
There are double-digit increases in Hamilton (75), Waterloo (65), Middlesex-London (61), Ottawa (56), Durham (55), Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph (55), Simcoe Muskoka (54), Halton (51), Niagara (35), Eastern Ontario Health Unit (23), Kingston, Frontenac and Lennox & Addington (17), Southwestern Public Health (17), Thunder Bay (13), Renfrew (11), and Brant County (11), with smaller increases in Leeds, Grenville & Lanark (9), Hastings Prince Edward (6), Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District Health Unit (6), and Grey Bruce (6).
The remaining 11 health units are reporting 5 or fewer new cases, with only 2 health units (both in northern Ontario) reporting no new cases at all.
Of today’s cases, 51% are among people under 40 years of age, with the highest number of cases (693) among people ages 20 to 39 followed by 597 cases among people ages 40 to 59. With 1,804 more cases resolved since yesterday, the percentage of resolved cases has increased by 0.1% to 85.1%. The average positivity rate across Ontario has decreased by 0.8% to 3.6%, meaning that 36 out of every 1,000 tests performed were positive for COVID-19 on December 9.
Ontario is reporting 35 new COVID-19 deaths today, including 24 in long-term care facilities. Hospitalizations have increased by 18 to 829, with 7 more patients with COVID-19 in ICUs and 3 more patients on ventilators.
A total of 61,809 tests were completed yesterday, and the backlog of tests under investigation has increased by 11,713 to 66,326.
There are 139 new cases in Ontario schools today, a decrease of 68 from yesterday, with 111 student cases and 28 staff cases. There are 31 new cases in licensed child care settings, a decrease of 11 from yesterday, with 20 cases among children and 11 cases among staff.
In the greater Kawarthas region, there are 20 new cases to report, including 9 in Hastings and Prince Edward counties (most in Belleville and Quinte West), 5 in Northumberland, 3 in Peterborough, 2 in Kawartha Lakes, and 1 in Haliburton.
An additional 5 cases have been resolved in Peterborough, 3 in Hastings and Prince Edward counties, and 3 in Northumberland.
None of the reported cases in Ontario schools or licensed child care settings are in the greater Kawarthas region.
There are currently 106 active cases in the greater Kawarthas region, including 47 in Hastings and Prince Edward counties (most in Belleville and Quinte West), 32 in Northumberland, 18 in Peterborough, 8 in Kawartha Lakes, and 1 in Haliburton.
Since the pandemic began in the greater Kawarthas region, there have been 237 confirmed positive cases in the Peterborough area (214 resolved with 5 deaths), 209 in the City of Kawartha Lakes (182 resolved with 32 deaths), 131 in Northumberland County (98 resolved with 1 death), 27 in Haliburton County (26 resolved with no deaths), and 199 in Hastings and Prince Edward counties (147 resolved with 5 deaths). The most recent death was reported in Peterborough on November 23.
Province-wide, there have been 134,783 confirmed cases, an increase of 1,983 from yesterday, with 114,679 resolved cases (85.1% of all cases), an increase of 1,804 from yesterday. There have been 3,871 deaths, an increase of 35 from yesterday, with 2,431 deaths in long-term care homes, an increase of 24 from yesterday. The number of hospitalizations has increased by 18 to 829, with 7 more patients with COVID-19 in ICUs and 3 more patients on ventilators. A total of 6,776,142 tests have been completed, an increase of 61,809 from yesterday, with 66,326 tests under investigation, an increase of 11,713 from yesterday.
The provincial data in this report is pulled from Ontario’s integrated Public Health Information System (iPHIS) at 12 p.m. the previous day. Data from local health units is more current and is usually reflected in the provincial data the following day. There may be discrepancies between the Ontario data reported today (which is from yesterday) and the local health unit data reported today (which is from today).
Peterborough Public Health
Peterborough Public Health’s service area is the City and County of Peterborough and the Hiawatha and Curve Lake First Nations.
The health unit provides daily reports, including on weekends.
Confirmed positive: 237 (increase of 3)
Active cases: 18 (decrease of 2)
Close contacts: 39 (increase of 2)
Deaths: 5 (no change)
Resolved: 214 (increase of 5)
Hospitalizations (total to date): 12 (no change)*
Total tests completed: Over 37,550 (increase of 100)
Institutional outbreaks: Fairhaven (no change)
*Peterborough Regional Health Centre reports that, as of December 8, there is 1 patient with COVID-19 on an inpatient unit and 1 patient with COVID-19 in ICU (transferred from a partner hospital).
Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District Health Unit
The Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District Health Unit’s service area is the City of Kawartha Lakes, Northumberland County, and Haliburton County.
The health unit provides reports from Monday to Saturday, excluding statutory holidays.
Confirmed positive: 367, including 209 in Kawartha Lakes, 131 in Northumberland, 27 in Haliburton (increase of 8, including 5 in Northumberland, 2 in Kawartha Lakes, and 1 in Haliburton)*
Active cases: 41, including 8 in Kawartha Lakes, 32 in Northumberland, and 1 in Haliburton (increase of 6, including 2 in Kawartha Lakes, 3 in Northumberland, and 1 in Haliburton)
Probable cases: 0 (no change)
High-risk contacts: 195, including 19 in Kawartha Lakes, 174 in Northumberland, and 2 in Haliburton (net increase of 10)
Hospitalizations (total to date): 17, including 11 in Kawartha Lakes, 5 in Northumberland, and 1 in Haliburton (no change)
Deaths: 33 (no change)
Resolved: 306, including 182 in Kawartha Lakes, 98 in Northumberland, 26 in Haliburton (increase of 3 in Northumberland)
Institutional outbreaks: Extendicare Kawartha Lakes in Lindsay (no change)
*One previously reported case at a different health unit has been transferred to Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District Health Unit. This is not considered a new case, but has increased the case count in Northumberland by 1.
Hastings Prince Edward Public Health
Hastings Prince Edward Public Health’s service area is Hastings County (including Bancroft) and Prince Edward County.
The health unit provides daily reports, excluding statutory holidays.
Confirmed positive: 199 (increase of 9)
Active cases: 47 (increase of 6)
Deaths: 5 (no change)
Currently hospitalized: 0 (no change)
Currently hospitalized and in ICU: 0 (no change)
Currently hospitalized and in ICU on ventilator (total to date): 0 (no change)
Resolved: 147 (increase of 3)
Swabs completed: 10,814
Institutional outbreaks: None (no change)
Province of Ontario
Confirmed positive: 134,783 (increase of 1,983)
Resolved: 114,679 (increase of 1,804, 85.1% of all cases)
Hospitalized: 829 (increase of 18)
Hospitalized and in ICU: 228 (increase of 7)
Hospitalized and in ICU on ventilator: 132 (increase of 3)
Deaths: 3,871 (increase of 35)
Deaths of residents in long-term care homes: 2,431 (increase of 24)
Total tests completed: 6,776,142 (increase of 61,809)
Tests under investigation: 66,326 (increase of 11,713)
For more information about COVID-19 in Ontario, visit covid-19.ontario.ca.
